Rose Buds
by tehshogundude
Summary: Yusei and Aki are expecting a child along with Jack and Mikage. There will be troubles ahead but together they will try to get through them all. YuseixAki, JackxMikage. Sequel to Rose Petal Rain.
1. Chapter 1

**Rose Buds Ch 1**

**Welcome to Rose Buds, the next part of the "Roses & Stars" series and possibly the last. Yes I don't really have any more ideas for it to progress it at the moment. I'm going to focus on other story ideas, different chapter stories, also some upcoming stories I think are possibly going to be some of, if not my best stories, so be ready. Also this story is going to be 5 chapters, shorter than Rose Petal Rain, however since this December I want to focus more on winter and Christmas stories, the final chapter might be delayed until January though we'll see how things go during this month. Thank you Scooby82101 for checking over and as always let me know what to improve on and comment!**

It had been two years since Yusei and Aki married and during a period of time like that, a lot can happen. This was true for Yusei, Aki, and a lot of their friends. First of all, Jack and Mikage had married each other. Jack, though, had a bit of trouble proposing to Mikage the first few times. He wanted to make it as special as possible but it ended in failure with him never popping the question. Mikage was a very patient woman, and he later managed to gain the courage to propose. After they got married, Jack and Mikage moved into a nice home which coincidentally was a fifteen minute drive from Yusei and Aki.

The reason was simply as both couples' wanted a home within the similar price range and quality. So it was no surprise they would run into each other.

As for Divine, he had been helping out Martha at the orphanage for the last two years. He is still doing so currently. On Bruno and Sherry's side, they stayed in the city for a couple months after the wedding but went back to France. While there, they started working on plans to move to Neo Domino to get married and live there.

Yusei and Aki, at this point, had settled down and were generally not expecting any surprises at that point as their marks were gone. But life never is one to stay quiet for long.

A few days after their two year anniversary, Aki was talking and drinking tea with Mikage and Stephanie at her home.

On that day Aki, Mikage and Stephanie were at Yusei and Aki's residence, drinking tea that Stephanie made and chatting about various topics. Being married to Yusei, while a delight for Aki, on the days when he had to go out dueling, Aki had a break from work or wasn't scheduled to duel, she felt a bit lonely. Fortunately, Mikage, Carly and Stephanie during her breaks often visited and they would liven up each other's day. Whether it be through going out together, chatting while drinking tea, playing video games, anything goes.

The living room had a large television set which stood against the wall in front of a long red sofa. Behind the sofa sat the wooden dinner table of which Aki and Mikage were sitting at while Stephanie served drinks. on the walls hung many pictures of Aki, Yusei and their friends.

"So, Stephanie...met anybody yet?" Aki asked slyly. Stephanie turned to her confused as she sat down.

"What do you mean?" Stephanie asked confused.

"You know, someone special? Lover? Boyfriend?" Aki asked. Stephanie just smiled delightfully.

"Well I almost had one, but Mikage stole him from me." Stephanie explained. Mikage looked at her dumbfounded.

" But well I uh..." Mikage stumbled. Stephanie just chuckled.

"I'm kidding Mika! I'm happy you and Jack are married now. Relax." Mikage calmed down and smiled nervously at Stephanie's response.

"Still you and Jack getting married. I could never imagine that, you two seem like complete opposites." Aki pointed out. Mikage smiled calmly.

"Jack is a lot kinder than a lot of people make him out to be. He may look grouchy and rude but he cares a lot about the things he loves. I know he'll always be there for me and I'll be there for him."

"Awwwww that's so sweet!" Stephanie exclaimed to Mikage.

"It is. Then again no one would have expected me and Yusei together considering I hated him at first." Aki said chuckling.

"Then again what is expectable in your lives guys? Aki, you once had psychic powers, got magic tattoos and let's not even mention half of the hairdos of team 5d's." Stephanie pointed out as the whole group chuckled.

"Yeah that is true. What about us is normal? But I like that, always keeps me guessing and I like Yusei's hair, it makes him stand out. Makes him look kinda cool. I..." Aki begun to explain.

However as Aki talked she groaned and rubbed her face. Mikage and Stephanie looked at her worriedly.

"Are you ok Aki?" Aki looked up with a smile that you could tell had some worry behind it.

"Yeah totally! Just have a headache from working on the computer all morning. Just pass me some water and I'll be good." Aki explained. Stephanie grabbed the water jug from the table and poured a glass for her. However as Aki picked it up she dropped the glass which bounced around on the table, water spilling on it and she grew dizzy once more. She got up from her chair and stumbled a bit. Mikage ran over to keep her steady.

"Are you sure you're ok Aki?" Mikage asked. Aki looked at her with empty eyes.

"Actually I do feel rather horrible now...I think I can walk though, I'm just gonna go to a couch and..." However as Aki tried to speak to Mikage her face grew green and she covered up her mouth and ran towards the bathroom near the entrance to the living room. She swung the door open so violently it slammed against the wall. She collapsed on the ground and opened up the toilet lid and vomited inside the porcelain appliance. Aki felt like she was letting out all of her insides from that, Mikage and Stephanie ran to the bathroom and saw Aki weakly on the ground. After releasing whatever was left that was coming up, Aki looked at the toilet horrified.

"Where...where the hell did...what's happening?" Aki asked her friends in voice full of panic. Mikage sat on her knees and rubbed Aki's back, trying to comfort her. Stephanie kneeled as well.

"I'm trying to think...why would you vomit out of nowhere? The food you ate for breakfast was fresh right?" Aki nodded weakly.

"Tea was ok, and...wait a minute..." Aki and Mikage looked at Stephanie confused as her expression turned into shock.

"Aki...sorry if this is personal but is your period late?" Aki's eyes widened in shock.

"It was...but I didn't notice because I got used to it really quickly and I never had that same stress other people have during it...oh god does that mean?" Aki asked horrified.

"Now hold on a moment Aki just because of this doesn't mean what you think. But just to make sure, Mikage, go out and grab a pregnancy test, I'll stay here and comfort her." Stephanie instructed.

"I definitely will, I'll be..." Mikage suddenly as she tried to stand up fell back on her knees and held her mouth shut, she hovered her mouth over the toilet and vomited inside just as Aki did. When she was done she lifted her head up, shaking horrified at her sudden action.

"Mikage did...is your period late too?" Mikage nodded nervously. Stephanie reached inside the pocket of her shorts and grabbed her cell phone. She dialed quickly on it and put it near her ear.

"Thank god I got Carly's number from the bachelor party."

It rang for a bit, Stephanie growing impatient with every ring before she heard a click.

"Hello?"

"Hey Carly?" Stephanie asked.

"Yeah what is it Steph?" Carly asked in a happy, unaware tone.

" I need you two pick up two pregnancy tests from the shops, I'll pay you back later."

"Stephanie what's going on are you preg...wait? two?" Carly asked confused.

"I'll explain everything when you get here, just please hurry and get the tests?" Stephanie began asking desperately.

"Stephanie seriously what is going on?" Carly asked once more. Stephanie rubbed the bridge of her nose annoyed.

"Just please hurry Carly!" Stephanie yelled into the phone. Aki and Mikage looked at Stephanie surprised.

"Alright...I'll be there soon." Carly hung up the phone and Stephanie picked up the two women with them mustering as much strength as they could to get up. They walked slowly to the living room and Stephanie put them on the couch directly in front of the end of the dining room table. Stephanie went to the kitchen which thank fully was near the living room and got the jug of water as well as a large plastic tub. She put them on the coffee table in front of Aki and Mikage and sat by them. She passed them two glasses of water which they drunk, the two still shaking a bit. Stephanie began saying calming words to try and stop their nervous status...but it sadly was not working.

After 20 minutes of waiting a doorbell ringing was heard. Stephanie immediately rushed to the front door after passing through the hall on the way out of the living room. She opened the door and in front of her stood a very annoyed looking Carly who walked inside with a plastic bag containing the two tests.

"Ok, what the hell is going on? Did you get laid Stephanie and if so why do you need two..." Carly asked as she walked into the living room before noticing the two women on the couch looking at her fearfully. Carly's face turned to shock and fit the pieces to the puzzle in her head. Aki and Mikage stood up and walked to her, still a bit shaky after being sick but still able to walk on their own. Carly dug through the bag and handed them the two tests.

"Here you go. You know how to use these right?" Mikage and Aki nodded. The two separated and Aki went upstairs to the bathroom while Mikage took the one closest to the ground. As they did, Carly collapsed on the sofa with Stephanie slowly following.

"The two of them...out of nowhere, on the same day?" Carly said. Stephanie looked to the ground worriedly.

"I hope things end up ok for them. I have no idea how Yusei and Jack will react though. Carly turned to Stephanie and adjusted her glasses.

"Thing is...I know Yusei will probably be calm about it, he's basically a boy scout...Jack though. I don't know, his mood often tends to be grouchier, angrier and while Aki told me she and Yusei have thought about kids from time to time, I have no idea about Jack though." Carly told Stephanie worriedly.

"I think Jack will be ok about it, but I..." Stephanie tried to say but was interrupted by the sound of Aki and Mikage walking in. The two of them looked at the tests both somewhat terrified. Stephanie got up and looked at the tests. Both read positive.

"Well looks like the two of you are going to be mothers." Stephanie told the two women. Aki looked at Stephanie horrified.

"What am I going to do? Yusei and I brought up kids on occasion but never really planned for if I did get pregnant."

"Same for me and Jack." Mikage added. Tears began to stream down Aki's face.

"Oh god...what am I going to do?" Aki whaled beginning to fall on the sofa. Mikage sat with her and patted her on the back making a soft "shhh" sound to try and comfort the distressed woman.

"It's ok Aki, Yusei and Jack are very understanding people. We have nothing to fear." Mikage whispered to Aki. Aki looked at her, tears still coming out of her eyes.

"You really think so?" Mikage smiled comfortingly at Aki.

"Of course, I know Jack and Yusei. They will always be by our side just as we are for them." Aki smiled and wiped the tears out of her eyes.

"Thanks Mika."

Stephanie turned to Carly, still standing along with her. "Carly go text Jack and Yusei to come home. They need to know and be with them." Carly gave a military salute and got to work texting them.

_'Mikage's right, they will be by their sides...I just hope they come home soon.'_

**Meanwhile...**

Yusei and Jack were in one of the locker rooms at the Kaiba Dome after a particularly hard tag duel. The room was fairly large as twenty people could be there and still have room to walk around. These particular rooms were only used for the most famous competitors which Jack and Yusei were no expectations of being. Their lockers stood open with a bunch of equipment, deodorant, pictures of their wives and friends, and whatever else they needed. There was also rather clean bathroom Yusei had just walked out of after taking a shower. He started to change while his partner had finished doing so. Jack wiped the sweat off of his head with a towel while Yusei was finishing getting redressed.

"So Yusei, great dueling out there mate." Jack complimented Yusei. Yusei turned to his friend and smiled.

"Thanks, you were crap though." Jack turned to Yusei smiling cockily.

"I was now? Well at least I don't have to rely on a pink chicken with shoes for my duels" Jack quipped in a snarky tone.

"Touché Jack. Touché." Jack chuckled before suddenly noticing his vibrating cell phone. Jack pulled it out of his pocket, still smiling form his and Yusei's banter and read the text to himself...his smile disappeared. Yusei noticed his friend's expression change and looked at him confused.

"Jack, you ok?" Yusei asked. Jack looked up with a somewhat frightened look on his face.

"It's a text from Carly. She says we need to go to your place immediately, It's something involving Mikage and Aki." Yusei's eyes widened a bit.

"What else does it say?" Yusei asked, anxiety growing in his voice a bit.

"Nothing else, it just says it's really urgent. Come on let's go!" Jack said beginning to run out the door. Yusei followed and ran through the halls to the garage that stored their runners.

After running for five minutes they reached the elevator that took them to the garage floor. They ran inside and pressed the button to get them there immediately. The ride down was painful as Yusei and Jack desperately wanted to get back to the house and make sure everything was ok. However the speed of the elevator made it feel like it took an hour before they finally reached the garage floor. When they did they ran out and saw their runners parked in front of them. They jumped inside their bikes and got ready has fast as they could. Yusei turned on the communicator on his bike.

"This the guard for the garage for duelists, who am I talking too?" The guard asked.

"Yusei Fudo and Jack Atlas, requesting permission to leave." Yusei explained to the guard.

"Very well, have a good day Mr. Fudo, opening the door now." The guard pressed a buzzer and the garage door began to open. Yusei and Jack revved up their runners and as soon as the door opened Yusei and Jack speed away, trying to get home as soon as possible, not making a stop for anything.

As soon as the two reached the Fudo's residence Yusei and Jack parked quickly and ran quickly inside, swinging the door open. Jack and Yusei ran to the living room straight ahead from the front door. When they ran inside Stephanie and Carly turned back to them.

"Hey what's going on?" Jack asked as he and Yusei walked towards the front of the couch. When they got to the side where the front of the couch faced. There lied a very worried looking Mikage and a very nervous looking Aki. The two men instantly went by their wives' sides, sitting on the couch with them.

"Aki...Mikage, is there something wrong, please tell us?" Yusei asked, wrapping his arm around Aki's shoulder while Jack wrapped his around Mikage's hip. Mikage looked towards her husband, smiling however it was a nervous smile the kind you wear to make the others feel calm even though you are completely worried.

"Now Jack...Yusei...Aki and I..." Mikage tried to say but stopped midway, Jack looked at her more concerned.

"Look you two...don't be angry...you have nothing to worry about..." Stephanie pointed out, Jack looked at Jack and Yusei rather annoyed.

"Nothing to worry about? Look at Aki, she looks terrified!" Yusei replied irritated surprising the group considering Yusei's normal stoic expression. Aki put her hand on Yusei's to calm him down which it successfully did as Yusei took a deep breath and prepared for the news.

"Jack...Yusei...Aki and I are...pregnant..." Jack and Yusei's eyes widened, the color drained from their faces and bodies shivered a bit from the news. Yusei and Jack looked at the two women shocked. Yusei lifted his arm off of Aki's shoulder...

And wrapped them both around Aki tightly.

Aki was naturally shocked by his sudden action, as was everyone else.

"Yusei...what are you?" Aki started to ask. Yusei tilted his head up, with quite possibly the brightest smile Aki had ever seen from him.

"I can't believe you thought I would be angry, I couldn't be happier. I'm going to be a father with a woman I absolutely love...I just...I don't know what to say!" Yusei told Aki, beginning to even tear up a little in happiness.

"Yusei please! I can't breathe!" Aki yelled chuckling, trying to break out of her husband's grip. Mikage, Stephanie and Carly all chuckled at Yusei's joy. Yusei loosened his grip but still kept his arms around Aki.

"I've wanted to have a kid for a while I'll admit, glad to see you're happy about this too." Aki told Yusei, hugging her husband. Everyone awed at the couple.

Mikage turned back to Jack and she looked at him worriedly as his expression only slightly improved and still looks worried.

"Jack is something wrong?" Mikage asked. Jack shook his head as if he had fallen asleep but his eyes were somehow open.

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry about that, been a long day at the track. I couldn't be happier Mika." Jack told Mikage, smiling a bit though while Mikage smiled as well, inside she was worrying about Jack. His smile seemed a bit more nervous than genuinely happy.

"Jack...are you worried about having a child?" Mikage asked.

"No not at all...maybe a bit but not much. I mean I know how much you've wanted a kid and you'll be great with ours." Jack replied nervously.

"Yeah, I mean she's already great at handling kids, just look at you!" Aki shouted in a snarky fashion which Jack replied yelling "hey!" and while everyone was chuckling, Mikage was not.

Mikage knew he was lying about not being nervous. While Mikage knows he didn't want her to worry about him, Mikage was always concerned about Jack so this was something she needed to look into and hopefully help him through it. She knew having a kid was not going to be easy and she was worried too, but she was still enormously excited and wanted Jack to feel the same excitement and joy for the baby.

For now everyone just cheered in happiness at how excited everyone was for the new children to come. While Mikage was still nervous about Jack, she ignored it for just a bit so they could cheer in anticipation for the new Fudo and new Atlas.

**Please let me know what to improve on, comment and ch 2 will be up soon.**


	2. Chapter 2

** Rose Buds Ch 2**

**Four months later... **

During one's first few months of pregnancy, the symptoms one the hardest. The vomiting is just the beginning, symptoms and fears get more complicated later on. Aki and Mikage learned that the hard way. The two were mainly used to pregnancy facts they had seen in film or television. They were not ready for some of the things to come and they were going to hit hard.

It was Sunday, Aki and Yusei didn't have work that day and Aki was lounging about on the couch. The red haired woman lied with a plate of cookies of various brands and kinds beside her on the coffee table. Didn't matter what kind they were, she just wanted them during these times.

Her stomach was slowly beginning to grow as well, while she could still wear her recognizable red trench-coat and dress, but it was beginning to grow quite tight. Yusei was sitting on the couch, looking through his deck, picking out what cards to use for his next duel. Aki ate a chocolate cookie from the plate and groaned, Yusei looking up from his cards to her.

"Aki, what's the matter? Is everything okay?" Yusei asked concerned.

"Ugh, I have this awful taste in my mouth... Like metal or copper... I have no idea, but it makes these cookies taste like shit." Aki put the half eaten cookie back on the plate.

"Jesus how many packs of those things did you eat anyways?"

"I kinda combined a bunch of different kinds...I think I used 5 different packs...God I feel so fat..." Yusei chuckled at Aki and she looked at him annoyed.

"What are laughing about?"

"Nothing it's just your so cute." Aki picked up the half eaten cookie and threw it at the chuckling man, the cookie breaking into crumbs on his face.

"What was that for?" Yusei asked confused. His wife pouted at him.

"Cause you were laughing at me overreacting, you think I'm fat don't you?" Aki asked angrily. Yusei just laughed smiling.

"I'm sorry but I meant that you still look cute even with a bit of chub." The red haired woman blushed a bit, smiling.

"You really think so?" Yusei got up, walked over to his wife and Rubbed her pregnant belly.

"Of course, even when you were pouting like that I thought you looked adorable. I think you are beautiful no matter what. No matter how much your face, body or hair changes, you're still Aki to me." Yusei whispered to his wife.

"Wow Yusei...thank you Yusei, That means a lot to me actually." Aki thanked Yusei who smiled and kissed her gently on the nose.

"I'm gonna take a nap upstairs for a bit, the couch isn't exactly doing it for me right now." Aki slowly rose up and turned around, slowly standing up.

"God I still feel a little unpleasant from eating all those things." Yusei put his right arm under Aki's hip with her looking at him confused before he suddenly picked her up bridal style.

"Yusei, no! You're gonna hurt yourself." Aki tried to tell her husband but he just smiled at her while he carried her into the hall on their way upstairs.

"You're not that heavy Aki. Besides, you underestimate my strength."

"I guess I did, but please don't do these for the other months I gotta go through." Aki said while chuckling. Yusei nodded as he carried his wife upstairs. When they reached the second floor the door to their room was directly in front of them. She opened the door for him as he walked inside.

The Fudo's room was a bright, yellow room with rose lined wallpaper, a bed with pure white bed sheets and various wooden furniture which Aki picked so naturally they all have plants or rose carvings on them, from the dresser to the closet, even some of the markings on the bed.

Yusei walked to the end of the room where the bed stood and he laid Aki carefully on the bed and gave his wife a gentle kiss on the cheek.

"Have a nice nap." Yusei whispered to Aki sweetly. She smiled and got comfortable on the bed as Yusei walked out of the room. When the pregnant woman got in a comfortable position her eyes slowly closed and she fell asleep.

_"Keep pushing Aki! The baby is almost out!"_

_Aki was in the delivery room, Yusei and several doctors surrounded her, seat coated her face as she tried to push her and Yusei's child out of her womb. As she did a sharp, powerful pain occurred with every push. The mother in labor was gasping for air as she attempted to release the child._

_"Ok Mrs. Fudo, one final push and the child will be out." The doctor told her._

_She took as deep of breath as she could and gave as strong of a push as she could._

_"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!" Aki screamed, releasing any oxygen she took from that breath. However she noticed that something felt like it came out of her and she saw the doctor picking up the baby._

_"Congratulations Mrs. Fudo, you are a mother!" The doctor proclaimed to Aki. She smiled immensely and rose carefully as hard as she could from her lack of strength. _

_"You did it Aki...it looks beautiful." Yusei told his wife and Aki began tearing up in happiness the baby while still red from just being born and was crying from the new world it entered, the Fudos thought it was the most beautiful thing they ever saw.. Aki held out her hands to hold the child. The doctor gently put the crying child into the new mother's hands._

_However Aki's hands started shaking once the baby was in the palm of her hands. Naturally with something so delicate one would expect some shaking as one is nervous about such a delicate life. However her shaking grew and as she pulled the baby to her chest her hands were shaking so bad to the point where the baby was slipping out of her hands. Aki tried to hold the baby tighter..._

_But it fell right out of her hands._

_Aki's heart stopped as she saw the newborn baby fall towards the floor, the cry still being heard. When the infant hit the ground it shattered like glass, millions of fragile little pieces all over the ground...yet it still cried with what pieces remained and ref fluid poured out of the somewhat still pieced together head as Aki looked at it in horror, having a heart attack as she looked at what remained of the child. _

"No no...no NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Aki screamed as she suddenly rose from bed awake. She tried to catch her breath, she looked around the room to make sure she was in the real world. As she saw she was in the real world she calmed down...but began to cry deep into her hands.

The door swung open revealing a very shocked looking Yusei.

"Aki, are you ok!?"

Yusei saw his wife crying into her hands and walked over towards her. He sat on the bed and moved by her side. He wrapped his right arm around heri and kissed her lightly on her head.

"Shhhh It's ok Aki. I'm here. Please tell me what's wrong, is there anything I can do to help?" Aki looked to her left and saw Yusei's humble face. The raven haired man took his left hand and began to wipe away the tears streaming down the crying woman's face.

"Thank you...I just had a nightmare..."

"Would you like to talk about it...You don't have to but it might help." Yusei whispered to his trembling wife.

"I gave birth to the baby in my dream...but when I held it in my hands...I dropped it and...and...it fell on the floor and it..." Aki tried to tell Yusei, beginning to tear up again.

"It's ok, you don't have to go any farther if it makes you upset. Don't worry about it Aki, it's just a dream. It's not going to happen." The pregnant woman looked at her husband more panicked than she did previously.

"How can you say that! I've never really took care of a baby before...What if I do end up doing something like that...or worse? I gotta give it to someone else or even maybe..."

"Aki calm down...You're just panicked because of the dream. When I was in the satellite I met a mother who was worried sick that she would not take care of her baby properly. But through practice before birth she turned out just fine." The red haired woman looked at her husband surprised.

"R-really?"

"Yes! I saw the kid grow up and he turned out A-ok. Would practice beforehand help you out? I'm sure Martha wouldn't mind if you helped take care of a baby from the orphanage." Yusei asked his wife.

"I think that definitely would, thanks Yusei. I feel a lot better now." Yusei smiled at his wife and she smiled back. The couple hugged on the bed tightly for a long time. After something like that, they both needed something as comforting as a long hug.

_I wonder how things are going for Jack and Mikage. Are they going through stuff like this?_

**Meanwhile... **

Like Aki from earlier, Mikage was lying on the bed trying to relax from the stress from pregnancy. Adding to that, the overall tired feeling one can have during pregnancy can take a lot out of someone. However unlike Aki she was still awake and reading on her bed in the white room. She was lying a black bed with red sheets while Jack lied next to her. Jack moved a little closer to the pregnant bluenette to see what book she was reading only to see it was a book about being pregnant and was currently reading a section on symptoms of being pregnant.

"Nervous about being pregnant, love?" Jack asked his wife. Mikage turned her head and smiled at him.

"I am, just a bit I should say. I've been feeling kind of off today, so I'm reading this book Stephanie gave me. She told me to see if there was anything I could do to fix. As well as if I should do something in case something is wrong. From what I've read, the cure for my problems seems to be simply to rest and relax." Mikage told him giggling a bit. The blue haired woman had not had much trouble with a good number of symptoms of pregnancy like the strange appetite, mood swings and metal taste in the mouth. However, she had been feeling very tired and cautious about her actions. The pregnant woman suddenly groaned to which Jack looked at her worriedly.

"Are you alright Mikage?" She smiled nervously.

"Yes, just my feet are swelling up and it feels awful." Jack crawled towards Mikage's feet with her looking at him confused. When Jack was kneeling in front of her feet he put his palms on her left foot he started massaging it, making sure to hit all the sore spots and completely remove them from the petite woman's foot. While the action surprised the petite woman, it did help with the pain in her foot immensely. She smiled at Jack as he massaged both of her feet. However she noticed something in Jack's eyes, worry. Mikage recalled Jack's worried expression from when she revealed her pregnancy to him. Throughout the two months she kept seeing worried expressions from him and while he usually came up with an excuse, she couldn't stand it anymore, she knew Jack was worried about the child to come and she wanted to help him with his worried.

"Hey Jack..." The masseur looked up, putting on a smile to disguise his worry.

"I keep seeing a worried look on your face. I know it's about the pregnancy, please tell me what's wrong. I want to help however I can." Mikage told Jack in a concerned tone. The blonde's smile disappeared and sighed.

"Well...I...It's just...You're right, I'm worried as hell...I just am wondering if I can support a kid...What if...What if duel monsters or even turbo dueling is just a fad and it's gonna pass. Maybe I should get a second job and...I." Jack tried to tell his wife.

"Jack, don't worry, duel monsters has been around for 25 maybe 30 years now, I doubt it's going away anytime soon. You make enough money to support a child maybe even more. Please don't worry, were going to be ok. We are in this together, don't forget." She told her husband smiling.

Jack smiled a bit and crawled back to his wife's side. Mikage put her book down and wrapped her arms around Jack. He looked at his wife happily, any sense of worry was gone from his face. For that moment, everything was perfectly fine. Jack put his hand on top of her stomach which was starting to get much bigger. He started rubbing his hand on it, making the bluenette sigh peacefully. She knew there might be more troubles in the future and Jack probably still had his fears but she'll was always prepared for them and for that moment just held on to her husband. She kissed his cheek and Jack chuckled a bit as she began to fall asleep from the comfortable feeling. Jack laid her down gently and put her head on the pillow. He looked at her baby bump and sighed.

_'Just have to not worry? I wish I could my love...I wish I could.' _

**Let me know what you thought in the comments and let me know what to improve on. Also there won't be any updates for a while since I'm going to be going somewhere without internet for Thanksgiving. I'm still going to work on the story however so don't worry. **


	3. Chapter 3

Rose Buds ch 3

**6 months…**

Now while the negative effects of pregnancy can often hit hard, most try to ignore the bad in. They rather favor the excitement of the impending birth and what life is going to be like with a baby.

The two couples could tell one firsthand of this as Aki never had another nightmare or breakdown like a couple months before and she was excited to become a mother afterwards. When she looked in a mirror and saw the continuing growth of her stomach, she grew more and more excited each time it grew bigger. Of course when it grew to the point that anyone could see it, everyone became excited; much to the chagrin of Yusei and Aki. The press quickly noticed this as well which led to many trying to get pictures. Thankfully though Carly does most of the interviews so at least they were performed by someone they trust.

Inside the Fudo household, while Yusei was at work testing vehicles, Jack had the day off which he was spending with his wife who also had a day off from her job as an assistant teacher. However most of their friends were there too; the twins, Carly, Crow, Kiryu, Misty and Ushio were there. And naturally, Ruka was very excited and jumped at the chance to rub Aki's belly who had a day off from running a flower shop, "The Yuki Gardens", the store going into the hands of its owner, Fuyumi Mori that day

"Your bump is getting so big Aki; do you have trouble finding clothes that fit you?" Rua asked while his sister's hands were upon Aki's stomach. Aki smiled and chuckled a bit at the teenager's question.

"Not really, Misty told me and Mikage about this store that makes very attractive clothes specifically designed for woman who are pregnant." Aki explained.

"Oh yeah, your clothes are actually really cute!" Carly exclaimed. Aki smiled at the enthusiasm while she smoothed out the wrinkles in her black short-sleeve shirt with an amusing picture of a baby skeleton and it went along with her black skirt. Both of which felt comfortable even with Aki's baby bump.

"Hey Ruka, could you perhaps let me stand up now? You've kinda had your hands on my belly for seven minutes now." Ruka nodded, and did as Aki asked by backing away.

"Can you blame her though? It's so exciting! It could be an awesome boy!" Rua pointed out. Ruka stepped behind her brother as if she wanted to point out something.

"It could be a beautiful girl too you know, don't forget." Rua turned back to Aki.

"So what's it gonna be Aki? What are you hoping for?"

Aki chuckled "Sorry guys, me and Yusei want to keep it a surprise. We haven't even really decided on baby names depending on sex yet." The twins awed in disappointment.

"You guys are forgetting about Mikage over here! What are you two hoping for?" Ushio barked to remind everyone about Mikage and Jack who sat on the second couch, clockwise from the one Aki was sitting on.

Mikage chuckled in a similar fashion to Aki's. "I'm sorry Ushio, Jack and I have decided on keeping it a surprise as well." Ushio sighed disappointedly before drinking some coffee.

"But wait Aki and Mika? If you don't know what both of your kids are going to be than what color are you gonna make their rooms, what toys are you gonna buy for them?" Rua asked confused.

"Easy, it's a baby, it's going to play with anything and besides me and Mikage have picked white because it's a neutral color." Jack explained to the green haired teen.

"Ahhh I got ya. What about you Aki?"

"We picked white as well. Yusei and I don't really believe in specific colors for each gender." The rose haired duelist replied.

"Seriously? Man you guys are no fun!" Rua complained. The entire group chuckled at the teenage boy's complaint. Suddenly Aki groaned.

"God I'm hungry...someone order a large mush room pizza...with olives...pepperoni...tomatoes...anchovies...and an egg in the middle." The rest of the group looked at Aki surprised. "What?" the pregnant woman asked.

"It's just that...how much do you want to eat while pregnant?" Carly asked confused.

Aki shrugged. "A lot...trust me...This has not even been the most I've ordered or even the strangest food combination. Ask Mikage about that."

Mikage jumped a bit at the sound of her name, then began to fidget a bit. "Well...I...uh..." Aki smiled mischievously at the dumbfounded woman.

"Come on Mika, tell them about what happened at the sushi bar. Especially the part with the udon noodles." Aki said in a teasing tone. The rest of the group looked at Mikage intrigued. She stood up from the couch in a hurry.

"I'm sorry, I must be going. I remembered I have to help out a friend of mine." Mikage told everyone, rushing out the door before anyone could stop her. After she shut the door on her way out everyone who remained sat in silence before Aki and Jack stood up.

"Just remembered, me and Ruka are seeing some friends today actually so we gotta go too! Sorry it's just all this excitement about you two being pregnant made us forget." Rua pointed out as he and his sister left.

"Sorry guys, I got to go on patrol later, I'll see you later." Ushio commented as well, bowing to them before walking out. Aki looked over at Carly sighing.

"You too?" Carly nodded. "Sorry Aki. I have a story I need to write up. T-T-Y-L!" Carly told Aki as she exited the house leaving Jack and Aki alone.

"I assume you have to leave to Jack?" Aki asked, letting out a sigh. She didn't want to spend the day all by herself.

"Actually no...I need to talk to you about something." Jack replied rather grimly which surprised Aki a bit considering he seemed just fine a minute ago. She turns to face Jack who had taken a seat back onto the couch, his fingers laced together.

"I'm listening." Aki said, arms crossing beneath her bust as she stared at Jack.

"I know you and Yusei were having problems with you being worried about having a kid."

"Yes?" Aki asked growing ever more curious.

"Thing is...I'm really worried about having a kid too. Mikage gave me a pep talk a while back but it didn't help and I've still been worried sick and the due date is coming sooner and sooner." Jack explained to Aki.

"I can't help you with your problems which involve Mikage, I recommend talking to...oh I don't know, Mikage for that!" Aki pointed out to Jack to which he looked on the ground rather embarrassed and still nervous.

"I know...but I'm nervous to talk to her about this...again. I know she's excited to have the baby and if I say I'm worried again to her it will probably make it sound like I don't want to have a baby...I really want one but at the same time...I'm still worried about the baby and...I'm just not sure...what do I do?" Jack explained to Aki, growing more flustered the more he tried to explain.

"Go to Mikage, she won't jump to a conclusion like that. And while she may be happy and comforting, she worries too. You have to be there for each other in something like this. Go talk to her." Jack was silent for a bit before nodding in agreement.

"You're right...Thanks Aki.". Aki looked at her wristwatch briefly before turning his eyes back to Jack.

"It's about 6'o clock that means Mikage is gonna be in New Domino park." Jack looked at the pregnant duelist surprised.

"I thought she was going to help a friend?"

"Nope, she just says that because she really wants to go watch the sunset in the park, she just says that because she thinks the truth sounds rather ridiculous." The pregnant woman explained, smiling.

"I actually think that sounds kind of nice. That's not ridiculous at all. I'm gonna go see her and talk to her." Jack said getting up from the couch and putting on the coat that he laid on the couch. Once his coat was on, he began to walk out.

"Thank you once again Aki!" Jack shouted as he exited the Fudo household, waving Aki off with her doing the same.

"And now I'm alone till Yusei gets back..." Aki said to herself sighing. However, she felt a sudden thrust in her stomach. She looked down rather worriedly before noticing it was nothing to be afraid of...in fact she grew excited when she saw what it was. The woman put her hands where the thrusting was coming from and smiled.

"At least he will have a nice surprise for when he gets back."

**The ending where Jack is leaving leads in Rain of Leaves which kinda fits into this story. I did that because YOU SHOULD GO READ IT! It's possibly my best story! After you finish, come back for ch 4 when it gets released! Anyways please comment and let me know what to improve on. Also for December the story is going to be put on hold as I want to focus on two different shorter stories. Don't worry I will get back to Rose Buds in January but for now I want to focus on the other stories. Also thank you Scooby82101 for checking this over you were a big help! Also Yuki Gardens and It's owner belong to Scooby as well, just thought I'd throw them in as a cute little reference.**


	4. Chapter 4

Rose Buds Ch 4

A few months later, it was only a month until the due dates for both Aki and Mikage and it was starting to show. Their baby bellies had become so big by this point that it was impossible just to bend over and sometimes it hurt Mikage's back to walk upstairs or walk for an extended period of time. Even some of the clothes Aki bought for her pregnant body were no longer fitting and she had to get new ones. Things were certainly getting frustrating again after a period of relief when the morning sickness stopped.

However the two took comfort in knowing that it was almost over and in one month they would finally see their children. But, for the time being they pressed on and thankfully there was something that would make them forget their troubles, even just for one day.

Near the end of one's pregnancy, usually the soon to be mother's friends or family hold a baby shower for her. However considering how close the due dates were as well as how close of friends they were, Aki and Mikage's friends combined their showers and scheduled it for the same day. With all the guests for both families at one party, it was inevitable that the Fudo family backyard would be crowded. When the Atlases arrived at the Fudo household for the shower and walked into the backyard, they were shocked to see the flood of people in the backyard. There were balloons, tables with different confections, kids running around and music playing in the background.

"Jesus Christ...See anyone we know?" Jack asked with Mikage shaking her head. However someone was looking at them rather surprised and even with further inspection, they could not tell who it was. They presumed it was a relative of Aki but, when they tried to walk up to him.

"Hey everybody! The other mother to be is here! Please welcome, Mikage Atlas!" He announced loudly with everyone around applauding which made the couple feel a bit uneasy.

"I'm not used to all this attention." Mikage whispered to Jack as the crowd applauded.

"Me either actually, this party is bigger than the ones I have to go to related to work or something like that." Jack whispered back as the couple tried to not act like it was such a big deal. However their faces were evident of their unease. However they began to notice something pushing through the crowd.

"Ok folks, give them some space, and don't suffocate the poor girl!" Said the familiar voice of Aki Fudo who looked less than pleased with what was going on. Mika was overjoyed to see her friend but she could only walk slowly towards her due to weight that hung from the front of her body. However, she did manage to make it to her friend who took her hand and showed her around the shower.

"I am so sorry about my relatives suffocating you like that. I swear to god, sometimes they go a little too far with their excitement no matter who it is!" Aki said, complaining though laughing at the same time.

"Well to be fair, both you and I are having children, I'd be excited as well." Mikage pointed out to the red haired mother to be though Jack looked at Aki confused.

"Wait, all those people back there were relatives?!" Jack asked in a shocked manner. Mikage looked back to him and shook her head.

"Sorry, I was generalizing a bit. While most of these are my relatives, a fair number of them are Mikage's as well as friends of ours. And I did try to find relatives of yours as well as Yusei's but I could not find anyone." Aki explained, saying the last part rather grimly.

"I can't imagine why...though thanks for trying," Jack said, rolling his eyes a bit at the beginning though the last part was a genuine thank you. Mikage looked at her husband smiling a bit and let go of Aki's hand to hold his. He looked down towards their joined hands and smiled lightly. However as he looked down, Mikage's baby bump came into his view as well. He sighed a bit as he looked at it, despite his talks with Mikage and Aki, he still was nervous about the child. Despite knowing he shouldn't be nervous, regardless he was afraid of anything bad that could potentially happen.

"So where is Yusei?" Mikage asked as they walked towards the edge of the backyard.

"He's around her somewhere. Last I saw of him he got dragged off by one of my cousins because he wants to give him some tips on raising kids."

"One of your cousins has kids too? Do his tips work?" Jack asked. Aki pointed to the left where a young boy and a young girl appeared to be fighting rather violently.

"They believe in no discipline at all. Meanwhile..." Aki told them before holding her hands out to prevent the kids from coming into contact again.

"Either you kids stop smacking each other or I'm gonna give you both a hundred smacks on your behinds!" She yelled at the two kids who squealed and ran off. Aki turned back towards the rather shocked Mikage and Jack.

"I do. I feel like they need to get the message even if I exaggerate a bit. Anyways what are you going to do when your kids get out of line?" Aki asked as they continued walking.

"Honestly I can't exaggerate my anger like you can but I'll probably use whatever punishment I see fit for whatever they do and never go beyond what the punishment is." Mikage told her friend. They stopped walking when reached the table at the end of the backyard where all of the presents for them stood. And there were quite a lot of presents as well.

"Bloody hell, all of this for you two?" Aki nodded her head delighted and picked one of the presents up.

"Yeah, I think some things I may not need or Mika may not need so we are going to exchange some gifts later depending on what we get." Aki explained, shaking the gift a bit to see if she can guess what's inside.

"Ahhh I see." Jack replied. Aki put the present down and turned back to Mikage and Jack. However she noticed something behind the two and grew rather excited.

"Hey Yusei, over here!" Aki yelled. Jack and Mikage turned around and saw Yusei walking towards them, trying not to bump into anyone and looking rather confused.

"Hey guys, sorry I didn't show up for a bit, Aki's cousin…" Aki held her hand up to tell him it was alright.

"I told them already Yusei, its fine." She told him, chuckling a bit.

"Oh, thanks…Your cousin has very…interesting ideas about raising a kid." Yusei said a bit nervously. Aki kissed Yusei lightly on the cheek.

"Honey, it's fine to say his ideas are crap, even when we were kids his ideas were bad." Her husband chuckled and carefully hugged her, making sure not to crush her baby bump.

"Awww, how adorable." A feminine voice said out of nowhere. Yusei and Aki separated, confused and the four looked around for who made the comment and standing near them came the most obvious answer. A tall blonde woman with fierce looking eyes stood next to a blue haired, laid back looking man.

"Sherry!" Aki said rather shocked but with joy evident on her face.

"It's is vonderful to see you again." Sherry said, somewhat chuckling.

"My, it seems like you two jump between France and Japan all the time." Mikage commented while chuckling. Sherry rubbed the bridge of her nose, obviously tired.

"You're right, vee do. It seems like vee are always going there for business or for family reasons and I'm getting sick of it." Sherry said, her exhaustion evident in her voice. Bruno smiled lightly at her and ruffled her hair a bit. Sherry looked at him embarrassed and a bit annoyed.

"Just two more weeks now and that won't keep happening." Jack raised an eyebrow at them.

"Why is that?" Jack asked. Sherry chuckled a bit and lifted up her right hand while holding up her ring finger. At first Jack looked a bit angry since he thought she was flipping him off, but on closer inspection, he saw something else. A diamond ring wrapped around her finger. The rest of the group looked at her amazed.

"It took a couple years. He was too nervous to propose for a while, I waited patiently until finally, he could do it...and I said yes." Sherry told them, looking at the ring with joy. Aki grew an excited smile on her face and looked as if she would start jumping p and down. Yusei walked over to Bruno and put his hand on his shoulder.

"We're proud of you man. We'll be sure to show up at your wedding." Bruno looked over to his friend and chuckled a bit.

"Thanks, just want the both of us to be happy."

"Same here...same here." Jack responded, saying the last part a bit quietly and rather unnerved. No else noticed...save for Mikage. Mrs. Atlas took out her phone and started texting. Jack looked at he, interested in what she was doing.

"Who are you texting?" Mikage looked at him and smiled.

"Someone who I think you should talk to." Jack raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"I think you know why and I want to help." Jack looked at his wife as if she just figured out a dark secret of his and nodded in agreement. When Mikage was done she put her phone away and the rest of the group continued to enjoy the shower.

An hour later, Jack was walking around the shower, having talked to nearly every person at the party and did everything he wanted to do there. He was at that point in any party where you are just waiting for things to start wrapping up, but since it was his wife's shower, he wanted her to enjoy it to the fullest. It came to a point where his mind drifted so far into space that he did not see where he was going and collided with a rather tall man.

"My apologies, I..." Jack tried to tell the man before he noticed something familiar about the man. The man was well built despite the fact he looked to be about in his late 40s or 50s, had short brown hair along with a mustache many people would jokingly called a "porno stache" But more surprising to Jack was the woman standing near him who looked to be a little younger than the man but had a face which strikingly resembled Mikage's as well as long, flowing blue hair.

"Mr. and Mrs. Sagiri?" Jack asked surprised. The two grew big, inviting smiles on their faces.

"Jack! How is my son in law doing?" Mr. Sagiri said as he wrapped his arms around Jack tightly. Jack struggled a bit to get out of the hold before Mikage's father noticed and let him go.

"Sorry about Sato, he's just so excited about the delivery." Mikage's mother, Misako told him.

"It's fine." Jack said, catching his breath. Then suddenly, another blue haired girl who looked about ten years younger than Mikage stepped into the conversation looking just as excited as Sato. Her hair was not as long as Misako but not as short as Mikage's somewhere in the middle. She was wearing very flashy, colorful clothes as opposed to the two adults' more polite attire.

"Can you blame dad? My sister and your daughter is gonna have a kid! I'm so excited to see it to! Have you decided on a name? What gender is your baby going to be? Are you going to have another?" The girl asked very quickly.

"Kaoru, let the poor guy breath!" Misako said chuckling.

"No no, It's fine. I can't answer all of those questions, save for one. You were asking about the name?" Jack asked, Kaoru nodding her head quickly. Jack smiled rather cockily.

"The baby's name is...going to be a surprise." Kaoru pouted her lips and stormed off with Misako chuckling and following her.

"Ahhhh she may look older but still acts like a 6 year old." Sato said while turning his head to Jack. He then noticed a somewhat grim expression on his face and his smile disappeared.

"Jack, is there something wrong." Jack walked closer to Mikage's father.

"Hey, can I talk with you for a minute?" Sato nodded his head.

"Well...It's just that...I am bloody terrified of having a kid with Mikage. It's not that I don't want to have a kid but It's just that...I want to be a good father and...I don't think I'm father material and...Look! You are her dad, maybe you can help!" Jack asked, voice changing emotion from nervousness to anger to sadness relentlessly. All Sato did was chuckle a bit with Jack looking at him confused and a bit annoyed.

"You sound exactly like me when Misako was waving Mikage." Jack looked at his father in law shocked. Sato put his hand on Jack's shoulder.

"I was also scared of having a kid for the exact same reasons as you! But, you know something? As soon as the baby was born, BAM! No more fears, everything clicked." He said enthusiastically.

"Really now?" Sato nodded.

"Yep, all my focus shifted to raising that beautiful baby into the woman you see today. As soon as she was born I could not help but tear up and grow excited holding her in my arms. Did I have the occasional worry after that, of course, but that's just natural, it's a signal to tell you to always watch out for your kids." Jack sighed after Sato's speech.

"Feeling better?"

"I guess a bit...but in all honesty...I don't think I can be in the delivery room with Mikage when she gives birth. I don't I could ever see in that much pain...what should I do about that?" Sato sighed and rubbed his chin.

"Well...that I also had trouble with...but I..." Sato said before he heard something in the distance.

"Sato! Come over here, were going to share some chocolate cake with your daughter and her friends!" Misako said from afar.

"Oh god, they are going to give me trouble if I don't show up. We'll talk about this later Jack, gotta go!" Sato said, rushing off to get to the opposite end of the backyard before Jack could stop him.

"Shit..." Jack whispered under his breath. He took out his phone and looked at the home screen photo of them and Mikage at their wedding. The two were full of absolute joy and it looked as though they nary a single problem.

_If only I could predict this... _Jack thought to himself. He looked around and saw all the relatives of Mikage's and Aki's, some of them with kids and Jack told himself.

"These guys must have had fears to while having kids. If they can get past it than so can I." Jack claimed as he walked over to his wife at the end of the yard.

**Oh my god! I am so sorry this took so long, some things came up and progress just got slow, I am so sorry! But here it is and we are almost done with this story and I promise the next chapter won't take as long.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Rose Buds CH 5**

One week after the baby shower, Jack and Mikage decided to visit Yusei and Aki. While they hung out as friends at the Fudo home, they also talked about their plans for when Mikage and Aki go into labor. The due date was drawing dangerously near for them and they had to be prepared. They talked about what route to take to the hospital, who was going to come to the delivery and several other plans.

The four sat at the dinner table with Aki's laptop on its surface. She typed away; making sure not a single detail is left out of their plans while Jack wrote down the names of people that they would want to come. The Atluses stayed at the Fudo home for a couple hours, late into the night. Exhaustion from the day was beginning to show on some of their faces, primarily the two women because of the stress their soon to be born children was putting on them.

"So Aki, should we invite your parents? Yusei asked. Aki lifted her eyes from the computer screen to look across the table to her husband.

"Of course we should! Knowing my mom, seeing her granddaughter would be one of the happiest moments of her life." Yusei smiled a bit as he wrote down the Izayois on the notepad.

"That reminds me Mikage, should we invite some of your family?" Jack asked, looking at his wife curiously. Mikage sighed a bit.

"My dad is going to be on a weeklong business trip on the due date so he can't come. And my mom is not going to come unless he is there to witness it too. Kaoru will probably be busy with school as well." Mikage said, looking down on the table in depressed manner. Aki noticed and patted her on the back gently. Mikage looked back up at her friend and made a smile albeit still somewhat laced with sadness.

"It's alright; I completely understand why they can't come. Besides, I have a ton of friends I can invite."

"That's the spirit, Mikage! I'm gah!" Aki said, while grabbing her stomach. Yusei stood up and looked at her rather panicked.

"You alright?" Aki looked at him, obviously in pain but tried to keep a smile on her face.

"It's fine...just a big kick from the baaaaaaby!" She screamed out and hunched over the table, pushing the laptop across the table in the process with Yusei catching it before it fell.

"Weird...it never...started acting like this. I wonder..." Aki tried to say while breathing heavily but stopped near the end when her eyes jolted open. Mikage looked at her friend and noticed what was wrong, her eyes springing almost as widely as Aki's.

"Yusei! Aki's water broke!" Yusei ran over to the other side of the table. Indeed she was right as liquid had been spilt all over the chair and even the floor, Aki's pants damp from the breakage. Her contractions began, she began gasping desperately for air and Yusei put her arm over her shoulder to support her.

"Come on guys, our car is just outside!" Yusei said quickly as he began to run outside. Jack and Mikage nodded, following the Fudos...however Mikage fell on her knees. Jack turned around and ran towards his wife.

"Mikage?" Mikage looked up at Jack and he noticed that the bottom of her skirt was damp.

"You too!? Jack shouted with great annoyance. He quickly put her arm around his shoulder as Yusei did and started following again. Mikage began having her contractions too, though somewhat quieter than Aki. Yusei was waiting outside, anxious to get to the hospital, looking around for Jack. Jack walked outside the front door, still holding Mikage up. Yusei looked at him shocked but mostly confused.

"Is Mikage ok?" Yusei asked, running over to them.

"Sorry, Mikage's water broke too! Everything at freaking once!" Jack explained to Yusei while beginning to sound angry.

"Her too? Ok, how are her contractions?" Yusei asked concerned as Jack got closer to the car.

"They are not as bad as Aki's thank god, but what do we do?" Yusei sighed and looked over at Mikage. She looked as if she were about to collapse to the ground at any moment. Yusei looked back to Aki having her contraction in the car before his eyes widened and turned back to Jack.

"I got an idea. Jack, do you think you could drive and I will go in the back and comfort Aki and Mikage?" Jack's eyes widened a bit but he nodded.

"Of course, just help me out with Mikage first though." Yusei nodded back to his friend. He quickly passed the keys to Jack and he got inside the car while Jack put Mikage on the left seat. Aki sat on the right seat, closest to the window with Yusei in the middle, comforting her. Jack got into the driver seat and pressed hard on the gas. The wheels of the car started spinning so fast that the skidding of the tires drowned out the screams from Aki. It was late at night which thankfully meant fewer drivers on the path that the group had in mind, but a 15-30 minute drive, felt like an hour for the group as they tried to get to New Domino hospital.

When they arrived at the hospital, Jack and Yusei sat anxiously in the waiting room for when they could see their wives. The atmosphere of the waiting room was not exactly the most comfortable as it was a pure white room with nary a decoration or even a plant. All that was in the room were several seats, a magazine rack and the reception desk which was only a couple feet away from where Jack and Yusei sat. The worst part however was the low temperature of the room which only added to the uncomfortable atmosphere. Jack's hands shook nonstop as the cold temperature of the waiting room as well as the feeling of not knowing what was happening to his wife ate away at him. Yusei meanwhile, seemed more collected on first glance but on closer inspection, sweat was slowly building across his brow from the heat building inside of him. The cold temperature was not a problem for him; rather it was the high temperature inside of him that was the problem.

Yusei looked over to his friend and noticed how anxious he looked immediately.

"You nervous too?" Yusei asked. Jack didn't look back at his friend instead simply nodding. He was looking straight at the reception desk, waiting for when he could go see Mikage. However his view was suddenly blocked by a hand coming in front of his eyes which surprised him a bit.

"Yo bro in law! What's going on?" Jack looked up immediately to see it what Mikage's sister Kaoru. Her mother and father were there as well, smiling like any welcoming parent.

"Jack! We came as soon as you called us, how are things looking?" Mikage's father asked in a tone any relative you haven't seen for a while would ask you in. Jack smiled lightly and stood up to look at them eye to eye.

"They are getting her settled in at the moment. We can't see her yet. Did you manage to contact Aki's parents?"

"We managed to call them but it will take them longer than we did. They're most likely going to show up after the delivery." Mikage's mother explained. Yusei smiled at the family.

"Thanks Mrs. Sagiri." Yusei said. The Sagiri family sat by them and Kaoru picked up a typical teen girl magazine from the magazine rack a couple seats down from Jack. Jack sat back down, however a male nurse walked out of a door which lead to the maternity wing of the hospital and immediately made him stand back up. The Sagiri family looked at him curiously, Yusei raised an eyebrow and Jack looked at him anxiously. The nurse looked at Jack and looked at a clipboard he was holding.

"Mr. Atlas?"

"Yes?" Jack answered franticly; the Sagiris looked at him with their curiosity peaking even higher.

"Your wife is still getting set up, however Mrs. Fudo is set up and wants to speak with you privately." Jack looked at the nurse confused as did everyone else.

"Ok sure, show me the way?" He replied, somewhat confused. The nurse smiled and turned around, Jack following him into the Maternity wing.

Eventually, Jack and the nurse made it too Aki's room and the nurse let him in while going off to let the talk privately. Jack watched the nurse leave before turning towards Aki. Her room was much more inviting than the waiting room with flowers by the window, a comfortable temperature and while it still looked like your average hospital room, it certainly was a step up from the waiting room. Aki lied on the bed, looking tired and had many things such as a colostomy bag and other things near her.

"Hey...is that you Jack?" Aki asked, her voice sounded very groggy and she looked like she just woke up from a nap. Jack walked closer to her and looked at her confused.

"Yeah, it's me. What did you want to talk about?" Jack asked in a tone one would use if there was a sleeping baby in the room, any louder of a tone was the last thing the woman needed.

"Great...Well...how do I put this?" Aki asked, trying to sit up but collapsed back down due to lack of energy. Jack raised an eyebrow at what she said.

"Ok...I overheard you at the baby shower about how you don't think you can see Mikage when she's giving birth...in pain and all that?" Jack looked at her surprised but nodded his head anyways.

"Well...Mikage is terrified about the pain, probably more than you as she is...you know? The one taking the pain." She said with her voice rising with a bit of bitterness in it. Jack nodded again though looking somewhat nervously at her.

"Just...please be with her. It would help her out so much. Just being there would probably make her lose all her fear." Aki told him with a somewhat begging tone in her vocals. Jack sighed again and looked at his watch before looking back at Aki.

"I...don't think I can be in the same room with Mikage in pain like that..." Aki began to look very angrily at Jack.

"For the love of God! She is your wife and it's your kid! She is worried sick and you're not going to be there because you don't think you can handle it? What about her? She is the one making the goddamn delivery!" She began to yell, her hoarse voice making some of her speech distorted. However while the words where scrambled, the message was clear to Jack.

"...You're right...I should be there." Aki smiled very weakly at him. As if the smile was exhausting what little energy she had.

"I really appreciate that Jack...and so will Mika." Jack smiled lightly and turned around to exit the room. But before he opened the door he turned around.

"Hey Aki..." Aki looked like she was about to fall asleep at any moment but stayed awake for as long as she could to hear what Jack had to say.

"Thank you so much..." She smiled before falling completely asleep. Jack opened the door and went back into the halls. Jack sighed outside the door and started to head back to the waiting room to wait for when Mikage was ready to deliver their child.

A couple hours later, the time had come and Mikage was ready for the delivery. The room was surprisingly comfortable considering what was going to happen. There were nice decorations such as plants, colorful curtains and more in the room. There was still medical equipment surrounding the bed where Mikage was lying such as the bed where the baby would lie when not in the mother's hands, The bath to clean the baby and other equipment but otherwise it was fairly friendly. However the atmosphere at the moment was not the same as the room would suggest as Mikage was gasping for air at the pain of giving birth. A mask as attach to her mouth in order to provide oxygen to her and relieve pain but even then she still was in pain while she was delivering the baby. Jack stood by her side and told her words that would otherwise be calming but they were not working. A female doctor and the nurse from earlier stood in front of Mikage preparing her for birth. The Sagiris gave the doctor some space, standing far behind her.

"Alright Mikage, the baby is almost far enough out. Not enough to push though so just wait a little bit longer." The doctor said calmly. Mikage responded with a scream of pain.

"AGGGGHHHHH!" She screamed to the top of her lungs. The baby moved a little bit further from out of Mikage's womb. The child was grinding against her insides, stretching them out to painful levels. Sweat was coming out in buckets from all around Mikage, the bed turning a completely different color than the white it was earlier. Tears were coming out of her eyes, mixing with the sweat.

"Ok Mikage, it's come out enough. Now push!" The doctor told her. Mikage pushed hard, screaming loudly in the process and her eyes clenching shut. After a hard push, she looked towards Jack, tears flooding her eyes and she was gasping for air.

"I CAN'T...DO IIIIIT!" She screamed again.

"I can't do it! I can't do it! I can't do it!" She began pleading while gasping desperately. Jack shut his eyes; he couldn't bear to see her in pain like this. But he opened his eyes and closed his hands on hers. Mikage looked at him surprised, not from his action, but from the smile evident on his face.

"You can do it. We're so close to seeing our baby. I know you can do it, I'm right here...don't worry." Jack said calmly to Mikage. Mikage's gasping slowed and she took a deep breath and pushed some more. She still screamed and moan but the more she did, the tighter Jack's grip grew and her gasping went down.

"Ok, I can see some of the head Mikage! Just a little more!" The doctor told her, an excited smile growing on her face. Mikage took another deep breath and pushed once more. She screamed as she felt the child come out of her. The doctor carefully put her latex glove covered hands and carefully took the baby out of Mikage's womb. Loud cries came from the child as it was taken out, it's skin was purple due to the lack of oxygen and had blood covered on it. Jack looked away from Mikage and at the child and looked at it shocked.

"My god…there it is…" Jack whispered to himself. The male nurse handed Jack and Mikage some latex gloves in order to hold the baby without spreading germs. While they put them on, the doctor washed some of the blood off of the still crying baby and cut the umbilical cord. Jack walked closer to the child slowly, in complete awe of what had just happened. The doctor looked at Jack smiling with a blanket wrapped baby in her hands.

"Congratulations. It's a beautiful girl." Jack held his hands out and the doctor put the baby in them. Jack pulled the baby closer to him and the baby suddenly started to grow a bit quieter and Jack smiled in a way that almost out of character for him. Jack saw a bit of blood under her eye and he carefully wiped it away with his thumb.

Jack walked slowly towards Mikage who looked as if she was about to fall asleep. He carefully walked towards her and handed the baby to her. Mikage smiled and used all the energy she had left to take the baby into her arms and hold her. By this point the baby had stopped crying and Mikage's eyes started to have tears of joy fall out of them.

"She's so...beautiful." She weakly said. Jack stood over her, stood there smiling in a similar to his wife.

"Do you have a name for her?" The nurse asked, holding his pen ready. Jack and Mikage looked at each other briefly before looking back at the child.

"How about Emi? Jack asked. Mikage looked to him and nodded happily.

"I think that sounds wonderful. We'll go with that please." Mikage asked the nurse. The nurse wrote it down quickly and the couple put their focus back on their child.

"Blimey...I wonder how Yusei and Aki's kid is going to be. Probably not as wonderful as ours!" Jack chuckled and bragged smugly. Mikage giggled a bit and the baby began to stir up again to which Mikage instantly began rocking her gently to put her back to sleep.

_**a couple hours later...**_

_"Keep pushing Aki! The baby is almost out!"_

_Aki was in the delivery room, Yusei and several doctors surrounded her, seat coated her face as she tried to push her and Yusei's child out of her womb. As she did a sharp, powerful pain occurred with every push. The mother in labor was gasping for air as she attempted to release the child._

_"Ok Mrs. Fudo, one final push and the child will be out." The doctor told her._

_She took as deep of breath as she could and gave as strong of a push as she could._

_"ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGHHHH!" Aki screamed, releasing any oxygen she took from that breath. However she noticed that something felt like it came out of her and she saw the doctor picking up the baby._

_"Congratulations Mrs. Fudo, you are the mother to a wonderful baby boy!" The doctor proclaimed to Aki. She smiled immensely and rose carefully as hard as she could from her lack of strength._

_"You did it Aki...it looks beautiful." Yusei told his wife and Aki began tearing up in happiness the baby while still red from just being born and was crying from the new world it entered, the Fudos thought it was the most beautiful thing they ever saw. Aki held out her hands to hold the child. The doctor gently put the crying child into the new mother's hands._

_Aki's eyes widened in horror. This was playing out exactly like the nightmare she had. Her hands began shaking once again and she started to see the horrific imagery from her dream again. The shattered babe's screaming began ringing in her ears. However though, as soon as the baby entered her arms._

_They stopped shaking immediately._

_Aki sighed immensely in relief at the fact that her night mare did not happen. She looked closer at the baby and while it was still red from just entering the world and it still was crying, Aki did not mind in the slightest. She gently stroked the his head and Yusei looked over them happily._

_"Hi there baby...happy birthday." Aki said, sounding as if she were about to fall asleep any second. Aki carefully handed the baby over to Yusei who embraced the baby gently._

_"What's the baby's name?" The nurse asked. Aki continued to stroke her head, thinking carefully for a minute about what to call him. She perked her head up when she figured out the name._

_"Domineco." Aki said, Yusei looked at her a bit confused though still happy._

_"Domineco?" Yusei said whilst chuckling._

_"My grandfather was Italian and he was kind of the reason I wanted to go to Italy, I have heritage there." She explained. Yusei simply smiled._

_"I have no problem with that, Domineco it is!" The parents chuckled and turned their focus back to the baby. This was a hectic night for both the Fudos and the Atlases but it was all worth it to bring their children into the world. Both families had their fears about the event but when the babies were born, they instantly loss those fears and were ready to raise their newborn children._

_**Emi- small lily**_

_**I am so sorry this took so long and I will explain everything soon. But I hope you enjoyed and let me know what to improve on and such. And thank you Scooby82101 for checking over this.**_


	6. Chapter 6

**Rose Buds Ch 6**

A month passed after the delivery of the children. The passing days were used primarily to have things return to normal such as returning home, trying to lose the baby weight and various other tasks before things could finally settle down.

Aki's focus on those days was to try and lose some of the weight she gained while having Domineco, as well as take care of the newborn child. Sometimes she would use a rowing machine while her son was playing in a pen, within Aki's view, with various toys inside. Aki thought it was funny how Domineco always watched his mother exercise and imagined that he was cheering his mother on. Yusei, meanwhile, had been more than a little excited about his son; and sometimes when Domineco was in the same room as him, he would tell him about various things that the child could no doubt not understand. Yusei always chuckled a bit when the baby giggled as he told these things.

On the third Sunday after the delivery, The Fudos were going to have some guests come over for dinner, as well as introduce the baby to the only person who had not met him. They sat on their couch, waiting patiently in the living room which was just a couple steps away from the front door, and had large opening in the wall as the entrance rather than a traditional door. The parents sat on the long sofa either typing on their laptop, in Aki's case, or watching the baby as he played on the carpet in front of them in Yusei's case. Yusei kept chuckling at how the baby rolled around and shook the various stuffed animals and rubber toys around. Aki perked her head from her laptop to see what Yusei was chuckling at and saw Domineco attempting to chew a Pikachu plushie, despite his lack of teeth. Aki giggled and put her laptop down so she could get down on the floor and rub the baby's hair.

Then the doorbell rang and Aki stood back up to answer it. When she got to the door, she quickly straightened out some of her hair with her hand before she actually opened it. Standing in front of her was Divine, wearing the smile of a friend who hadn't been seen for a long time.

"Hello again Aki. Sorry I've been so busy these past few months." he said to her somewhat nervously but nonetheless still excited to see her. Aki opened up her arms, inviting her once guardian to a hug, ecstatic to see him once again. He happily accepted and once they separated, he entered inside.

"So what have you been busy with? You didn't leave us with a lot of details." Aki pointed out.

"Oh primarily things involving work and Martha's orphanage. Nothing really all that exciting. But...Aki?" Divine said, Aki turning to him curiously, Divine looking at her rather excitedly.

"May I see him? I've heard about him and I..." Aki interrupted Divine by pointing towards the ground where Domineco was playing. The baby noticed the stranger in his home and looked at him with wide-eyed curiosity. Divine knelt on the ground to get closer to Domineco and Yusei watched the two, smiling at his son's confusion.

"Hello there Domineco, My name is Divine." He said, holding out his hand. Domineco just kept staring at him before turning back to the Pikachu plushie.

"Awwww, sorry about that." Yusei said somewhat jokingly, sitting up straight and making room for his wife on the couch.

"Oh no, it's fine, He's young after all and soon he will know about his uncle Divine." Divine said, somewhat jokingly. Aki walked into the living room as well with a somewhat more serious tone on her face, sitting next to her husband.

"That reminds me; Divine, Yusei and I want to talk to you about something." The man looked at Mrs. Fudo a bit surprised but nodded and stood back up. He sat in a chair across the room from the two, facing the couple directly. Domineco played on the carpet separating them, looking around for more toys to play with.

"Me and Yusei...well actually me...I mean..." Aki tried to say, but fumbled on her words. She took a deep breath and gathered her speech in her mind before trying to speak again.

"Divine...you were my guardian at a very dark time in my life. I looked up to you, you were there for me, you were like a father to me. I don't know how I could ever repay you." Aki said sweetly and smiled a little bit towards the end. Divine smiled at what she said, touched that she thought of him like that.

"And Domineco there...well...In case something were to ever happen to us, I want him to be someone I know we can trust and that is very responsible." Right there the smile on Divine's face faded and he suddenly looked very serious. He felt somewhat unnerved by what she said, as if he did not like where it was going.

"Divine, we want you to be Domineco's godfather." Divine looked at the two shocked.

"No...absolutely not...While, yes, I did take care of you, you were almost a teenager then; you were easier to take care of by that point. And even ignoring that, I led you on a path of hatred for regular humans and I wanted us to control them all. I personally believe that those are not good morals for a child. How could I teach him right or wrong when I thought that was a good idea? What made you want to pick me instead of Martha, Mikage or even Mr. & Mrs. Izayoi?" Aki sighed in disappointment. Yusei rubbed her shoulder in an assuring manner while keeping an eye on the still playing Domineco.

"You changed didn't you? Now you know those morals are wrong and you can teach what is the right thing to or not. Even so, I think an angsty teenager is going to be harder to take care of than a bratty but still innocent child. Also, Martha is busy with the orphanage enough, Mikage has her own kid and my parents are growing older and older so they probably won't be able to keep up with a kid like they could before. But even beyond that, You came when no one else wanted me, you came when people looked down on me and when I looked down on myself. You gave me a home...a purpose...someone I could call family...That's the sign of a perfect parent, being there for someone and giving them not only a home, but a goal to look for. While it might not have been the right goal, it still gave me something to work for." Aki told him as passionately as she could, her voice raising at some parts. Domineco turned towards his mother during her speech, looking at her curious as any baby would.

Divine sat there stunned at Aki's speech; no one had ever said anything so passionately about him. He looked at Domineco on the floor, who was just sitting there curious about what made his mother so worked up. Divine smiled slightly and looked back towards the parents. Aki was giving a forced smile one would wear to say "Pretty please?" but in an obviously joking manner while Yusei gave his normal casual smile.

"Alright...you've convinced me..." Aki removed the false smile, put on a genuine smile and walked towards Divine as he stood up. She wrapped her arms around him tightly.

"Thank you so much!" Aki shouted excitedly, her son on the ground looking shocked once more and looking a bit upset at the sudden noise. His mother immediately took notice and knelt on the floor to pick up her son.

"Oh my, I am so, so sorry Domineco. Mommy didn't mean to scare you. It's ok, It's ok..." She said in a soothing manner to try and calm him down. Yusei chuckled a bit and rubbed Domineco's hair, assisting Aki.

"I pray to God that Jack and Mikage aren't accidentally scaring their baby...Naw, knowing them, they're probably doing a better job than me." The group chuckled though Yusei was quick to tell her she was doing a wonderful job.

**Later that night...**

The Atlas household stood primarily quiet that night with little noise traveling through its halls. While Jack and Mikage were watching television, they kept a one-way baby radio nearby though to let them know if Emi needed anything. They sat there watching _Clannad _in their cozy living room. The flat-screen television stood above the fireplace and was on a large shelf in between shelves which held hundreds of DVDs. Mikage rested cozily on the sofa, facing the TV with her head on Jack's shoulder while Jack watched the show happily in her company.

Outside though, rain drops were beginning to fall quickly on the window outside. Distant cracks of thunder could be heard and faint flashes of lightning could be seen. Jack looked outside with concern which Mikage noticed and raised her head, looking at him with the same expression.

"Is something wrong Jack?" Mikage asked. Jack looked back to his wife and smiled as if nothing were wrong.

"It's nothing, just a small thunderstorm brewing outside. I thought it would wake up the baby but it sounds too far away." Mikage returned to her smile and began to cuddle with Jack again...

Then an extreme crash of thunder boomed from outside which alarmed the couple and made them sit back up. But even more concerting was noise forming on the radio.

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" A loud, terrified cry burst from Emi which signaled the parents immediately.

"I'm gonna go tend to her, you bring the milk?" Jack quickly asked with a somewhat commanding tone. Mikage nodded in response as if she were his secretary again and Jack immediately rushed upstairs.

Jack walked inside the baby's room which itself looked like a typical baby's room with the bright blue walls, stuffed toys and plastic baby toys lining the floor and a mobile hanging over Emi's crib. The lights were off, save for the light coming in from the open door. Emi noticed and turned towards Jack, albeit still crying. Jack walked over slowly, put the crib bar down and looked over the bedding in case there was anything else he needed to attend to. Inside was an empty milk bottle, a pillow, ruffled up blanket and various stuffed toys, nothing out of the ordinary. Jack gently picked her up and smelled her bottom for any sign that she soiled herself, which she thankfully didn't. Jack cradled the baby in his arms in a position so that her head was resting against his arm and she would never slip even the slightest in the position she was in.

"Hey now, don't cry...It's only a bit of thunder & lightning, it's going to go away...Look!" He whispered to her soothingly, he turned her towards the window where the rain was beginning to slow down.

"That's the last of the storm you have to hear. It's going away, just for you." Despite Jack's calming words, Emi still continued to cry. Jack looked a bit annoyed but sighed, coming up with an idea.

_A lullaby should put her back to sleep...But damn! I don't know any! Martha was too busy taking care of everyone back at the orphanage, she couldn't! _He thought to himself. He carefully began rocking the baby back and forth, putting a comforting smile on his face while he looked at his daughter. He wanted to make her feel safe and hopefully not cry anymore that night.

"Here goes nothing." Jack said to himself.

"Say your prayers little one, Don't forget my son, to include everyooooone." Jack sung quietly to the baby. Emi opened her crying eyes at Jack though tears continued to fall down her face. Jack tickled her nose a bit which slowed her crying down a bit more.

"I'll tuck you in, warm within, keep you free from sin, til' the sandman he coooomes." Emi's crying was beginning to stop and she looked at her father ever more curiously.

_Gonna have to alter the lyrics a bit..._

"Eeeeexxxit light, eeeeenter niiiight. Taaaaaake my haaaaand, off to never never land." Jack sung again, moving around the room with the baby to make it feel like it's flying. Emi was still not tired, but she was not crying at least. Suddenly, Jack stopped suddenly and grew widely opened eyes.

"Something's wrong!" Jack looked around quickly. Emi looked at her father a bit more surprised.

"Shut the light, heavy thoughts tonight and they aren't of snow whiiiite." Jack sang, carefully putting the baby back in the crib. Emi reached out for her father but Jack had something in mind, as evidenced by his mischievous smile

"Dreams of war, Dreams of lies, Dreams of dragons fire. And of things that will bite!" Jack quickly said before nuzzling his daughter's stomach. The baby started laughing at Jack's sudden action and began kicking her legs in excitement. Jack stood up straight again and Emi looked at her with a wonderful, toothless smile on her face. It was short lived however as she let out a large yawn for her age and looked as if she were about to fall asleep. Jack put the pillow beneath her head and spread the blanket back over her and kissed her on her forehead.

"Hush little baby, don't say a word. And never mind that noise you heard." Jack whispered before standing back up and raising the bar. He looked at the open door and noticed Mikage, smiling warmly while holding a fresh bottle of milk for the little one. Jack walked over and took it from her hands and kissed his wife before going back to their child and handing the bottle over to her. The baby took the bottle into her hands and started drinking the milk and Jack gave her one last kiss on her forehead before leaving the room and closing the door.

The parents looked at each other with somewhat of a "great job" complimentary smile for each other.

"Metallica as lullaby lyrics?" Mikage asked, chuckling somewhat. Jack rubbed the back of his head, chuckling as well but a bit awkwardly.

"Sorry, it was the closest thing I knew for a lullaby. But it did work and that's all that matters." Jack commented. Mikage nodded and the couple kissed each other's lips before heading back downstairs.

While on the way down, Mikage asked, "So when you worked with me, were you expecting to have a family, let alone with me?" Jack looked at her a bit surprised from her question, but put on a warm smile that was usually out of character for someone like him until then.

"No, not at all. I was prepared for psychic girls, giant dragons, psychopaths and time travelers but not love. However Yusei and I definitely are loving every moment of it, and do you want to know why?" Mikage turned to him curious, the two stopping in the middle of the hall.

"Because we have two wonderful women to show us what love is." Mikage blushed intensely but put on one of the most beautiful smiles Jack had ever seen her have.

"Thank you...that means a lot to me...but..." Jack looked at her confused.

"I fell in love with the Jack who was a mixture of both a jerk and a gentlemen and one half is pretty much gone. I kind of miss that." Mikage said, obviously joking. Jack knew she was joking and put on a rather serious face in response.

"What the bloody hell are you talking about, I'm still a jerk. Now Sagiri, go fetch us dinner." Jack said in an exaggerated version of how he used to talk. Mikage chuckled and nodded.

"Right away, Mr. Atlas." The two laughed simultaneously and hugged each other, holding each other warmly for quite a while before finally separating to go do whatever things had to be done together.

Both then, and in the future.

**Thank you Mel-Meiko-Mei-Ling for beta reading this! Yes, Scooby is no longer beta reading as she is no longer on DA or . She wants to pursue much bigger goals in writing and I wish her luck with it. **

**Anyways...time to explain why I took so long with this. To be honest...It was poorly planned. Normally I make a storyboard with a lot of details saying what I'm going to do but for this one I just rushed the storyboard and it had vague ideas of what to do. But it gets worse...Turns out that delaying it when I was writing Jack Frost and Blue frost was a bad idea as suddenly I forgot where I was and lost the desire to progress. It gets even worse when I made a quite frankly, awful entry for a contest that made me lose a bit of faith in me as a writer as well as finals being around that time, it was so much at once. Progressed slowed and all the while, I started coming up with new, better, interesting ideas for stories, including one which may be my best story yet, it made me want to just get this over with. Not helping matters is the fact that I've been coming up with my own original story at the same time which all three have been conflicting with this. On top of that...honestly, I got kind of sick of Yusei X Aki. Not that I don't like it at all but...I just kind of lost the passion I once had for them while writing them. I've grown to like other couples from other shows more and even within Yugioh! I've grown to like other couples more, primarily Jack X Mikage. Sorry if this sounds so grim but, honestly, there is no better way to put this, I feel like this story kinda sucked. I'm definitely going to do better for my next thing but...don't expect Yusei x Aki stories anytime soon as if I tried to write them, it would feel forced and turn out bad. Hopefully the next story turns out better and this is just a one time thing.**


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